Hayden Richer

Detroit MI

Support System
Ceramic/Pottery
Artist Statement
In an effort to discover more about myself, much of my work and practice revolves around self-reflection and has running themes of human relationship development and mental compartmentalization. I examine the process of revealing oneself to others, and the persistent debate as to what information is meant to be discovered, divulged, or kept secret. I believe that there is a relationship between ourselves and objects that we hold and touch, and that our identities are often portrayed through these objects. We use these objects to describe ourselves, correlating with the containers in which we keep them –whether that be putting them on display, storing them away, or keeping them safe in our pockets, free to touch and console us. I am interested in the spectrum of the storage of these trinkets that so often are the manifestations of our memories and thoughts –from cluttered to inventoried organization. My work incorporates elements of bittersweet nostalgia and domesticity by experimenting with feelings of hesitance, concealment, protection, and fulfillment. I use motifs of farming and land to communicate developing relationships as well as the natural sense to compartmentalize aspects of our lives, and the often-inevitable spilling-over that occurs because of this. There is always a tender dichotomy, a sort of checks and balances to behavior, just as there can be a reward with relationships there can also be a constant search for something that may never be revealed. I create both large and small-scale sculptures using terra cotta and stained stoneware and porcelain. I often utilize materials such as wood, steel, nichrome wire, and cement. I maintain an organic aesthetic that reference the world’s natural sculptures of rocks and stone, acting as abstractions of the objects, homes, and containers that we hold dear.